This paper discusses the Atlanta Public School scandal of 2009 and the underlying causes of it, as well as the different theories of white collar crime associated to the scandal. White collar crime is often not thought of as a “serious” crime. There are many reasons for this notion, including that white collar crime often receives less media coverage than street crime. In addition, the hidden complex nature of white collar crime allows many incidents to go unreported and sometimes even undetected. One of the issues associated to the detection of white collar crime is that it is difficult to isolate just one person as the perpetrator unlike more typical street crimes such as with a robbery, assault, or murder. However, white collar crime is a serious crime, and one that can have serious negative impacts on society while victimizing many without their knowledge such as the students in the Atlanta Public School System Scandal.
a. The Atlanta Public School System Scandal:
In 2009 the Atlanta Public Schools system found itself under scrutiny by a local journal article that had published local test scores for the system’s institutions that cited incredible gains and “statistically unlikely test scores”. The test maker McGraw Hill, a prominent text book and test publisher, conducted its own investigation into the allegations and found that the wrong-to-right eraser marks in some schools were at a rate of 89.5 percent. McGraw Hill concluded that It was “virtually impossible for so
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Get Access#5. Identify the principal agents who expose white collar crime in contemporary society. What factors motivate people to expose such crime, and what factors inhibit them from doing so? What specific policy measures can be adopted to encourage exposure of white collar crime?
White-collar crimes are just as prevalent today as ordinary street crimes. Studies show that criminal acts committed by white-collar criminals continue to increase due to unforeseen opportunities presented in the corporate world, but these crimes are often overlooked or minimally publicized in reference to criminal acts on the street. Many street crimes are viewed as unnecessary, horrendous crimes because they are committed by lower class citizens, whereas white collar crimes are illegal acts committed by seemingly respectable people whose occupational roles are considered successful and often admired by many (Piquero, 2014). These views often allow white collar crimes to “slip through the cracks” and carry lesser charges or punishment.
Most everyone goes home after a long day of work and watches the news. Think, what is usually reported? The weather, local activities, headline news, or daily criminal activity. Shootings, stabbings, homicides, etc. are all discussed by media anchors these days. This causes most everyone in our society to become familiar with crimes that are considered street crimes. What most people don’t hear about on the news is what is considered white-collar crime, sometimes known as corporate crime. White-collar crime not only is less reported in the media but also receives weaker punishments than street crime. This paper will first discuss the similarities between the two types of crime and then explain why their punishments are strongly
White-collar crime poses a vexing problem for the criminal justice system (CJS). It is an
The video I watched described the scandal regarding the Atlanta Public School System. The scandal, which has been well documented, was centered around 178 teachers and administrators up until 2006. In short, state testing results, specifically at the Parks Middle School increased dramatically, to where accolades were given. For example, for the mandatory tests in math and reading, the results jumped to an extraordinary level, accrediting teachers for their work in troubling, low income areas, that had a reputation for below average scores. In reading, scores jumped from 35% to 78% and math, from 24% to 86%.
A white-collar crime by definition is a crime that is committed by individuals of higher status. It is not necessarily a violent crime, but could be depending on the situation. An individual who works in a professional environment, such as the government or corporation tend to take advantage of employees and manipulate them into thinking their practices are legitimate. Some examples, of white-collar crimes include fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, and other various crimes. However, individuals who involve them selves in drugs or stealing someone’s personal possessions commit street crime. For example, it tends to be violent depending on the situation and it usually happens in a public place or
Summary: White-collar crime can be represented by highly educated people in position of power, trust, respectability and responsibility within a business or organization. A great example of these type of people are; corporate executives, government employees, doctors or any individual that work or manipulate any kind of monetary business as banks or loan firms. The article relate how some big companies can get away with white-collar crime, just for the fact that big companies has the power to overdue their misconduct, by paying a large amount of money to the system, and still go back to business like nothing happens. This
Edwin H. Sutherland is given credit for introducing the term white collar crime during the late 1930’s. However, in today’s times there is still confusion on the specific definition of what qualifies as a white collar crime and how it should be defined. In addition, there are key differences between conventional crimes and white collar crime in age, race, class, and other various factors. The media has added to these differences by portraying these two crimes quite differently. In regards to Sutherland, I found his study on 70 of the largest U.S. manufacturing, mining, and mercantile corporations and their wrongdoings. Sutherlands study confirmed that 97 percent of these corporations were criminal recidivists. Yet, in these corporations view
Most people, when they hear the word “crime,” think about street crime or violent crime such as murder, rape, theft, or drugs. However, there is another type of crime that has cost people their life savings, investors’ billions of dollars, and has had significant impacts of multiple lives; it is called white collar crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines white collar crime as
White-collar crime is defined as the financial motivations of non-violent crimes that are committed by professionals of business and those of the government. In the field of criminology, Edwin Suthelan (1939), a socialist who was the first person to define white-collar crime as a crime that respectable and those people of higher social status commit. The crimes include those associated with fraud, bribery, embezzlement, cybercrime, money laundering, theft of the identity and many more crimes that are nonviolent. For the white collar crimes, the offenses committed should produce some gains financially. The crimes are thereby committed by those persons holding various positions in businesses or organizations, and it is because of this position they can gain access to amounts of huge money that they get from the people like customers with whom they serve. The criminals involved are not caught in activities that are violent, involved in drug issues or illegal activities.
Welcome to the age of white collar crime. A time when the words thieves and businessmen go hand in hand. White collar criminals don’t get their hands dirty in their work. They use their heads to get what they want instead of using a little muscle. These criminals are just as dangerous as the rapists and murderers. In these times, even the most seemingly respectable people are suspected of white collar crimes.
In todays fast paced society, White Collar Crimes are no longer overlooked. Rather, these crimes have become the target for special task forces. They may occur once a month, once a year, or even once a day. Some examples of these crimes include “bribery, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery.” (4*) White Collar Crimes are usually directly associated with some sort of corruption. In this essay I will be taking a current National Hockey League scandal and relating it to white collar crime, specifically embezzlement and corrupt influence. To begin, I will provide a brief explanation of corruption, embezzlement and the power of a corrupt influence.
In this day and age, a corporation, family, or individual always has a potential risk of encountering fraud within their money supply. On average, fraud and abuse costs U.S. organizations more than $400 billion annually (Federal Bureau Investigation, 2010). Many may think that white collared crime is only money laundering or stealing, but that is only two out of the sum that countless culprits get away with. The term “white-collar crime,” originally coined in 1939 is synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals (Federal Bureau Investigation, 2010). These frauds include anything from bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, identity theft, corporate fraud to a wide number of threats all circling
White collar crime is a serious issue in the United States. White-collar crime is “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (cornell.edu). Examples of such offenses include bribery, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, bank fraud, blackmail, extortion, forgery, securities fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, repair scams, Ponzi and pyramid schemes. These non-violent crimes are responsible for an estimated $250 billion to $1 trillion in economic damages each year (Martinez). Individuals who commit white collar crimes have an increased likelihood to experience injustice compared to those who commit a street crime as noted in multiple studies detailed in various scholarly articles. Also, street criminals have a greater chance of getting caught in their wrongdoings versus white-collar criminals. Those who commit white collar crime make their decisions based on the philosophy or idea that their actions have low risk and a high reward. We face a dilemma in the United States because white-collar criminals are treated with minimal, inequitable punishment due to their social status, whereas the street criminals are treated with the correct, impartial punishment.
Introduction: This paper explores white collar crime and elaborates on the types of organized crimes through the analysis of case studies. Furthermore, I will also discuss the differences and similarities between professional crime and organized crime. White collar crime is the use of deceptive acts to solely benefit oneself, often leaving many victimized. Within this paper, I explain which theories best clarify why individuals partake in these criminal behaviors, and preventative methods. In addition, I will state my opinion on the severity of white collar crime and organized crime.